This male Cirl Bunting was photographed in Cornwall in 2010 and there is now real optimism that this species has once more become established in the county. The RSPB has just reported that the number of pairs of Cornish Cirl … Read More
Identifying Necrodes littoralis and Nicrophorous humator, two large black British beetles, is not as difficult as it might appear at first glance. Although both these beetles have black truncated elytra, orange tipped black antennae and are of similar size, between … Read More
It’s not everyday that two species of clearwings are recorded in a single day without the use of pheromones. Whilst photographing cliff top plants beside the South West Coast Path at Portscatho, on the Roseland Peninsular in Cornwall, my wife … Read More
The Golden-ringed Dragonfly is one of the easiest British dragonflies to identify. With a main body length (abdomen) of between 54-64mm it is one of the largest dragonflies likely to be seen in the British Isles and no other British … Read More
How can a species that is so difficult to see in its natural habitat also be one of the most recognisable species of British moth? Amongst over 2,600 different moth species of all shapes, sizes, colours and designs there is … Read More
Is it a wasp or a fly? This is Sicus ferrugineus, a member of the Canopidae, a sub family of the large order of insects known as Diptera or True Flies. Insects within this group are often referred to as … Read More
Dark Arches is normally an easily recognisable British moth but it does have other less common forms. Those of us interested in identifying lepidoptera soon learn to pick out the common Dark Arches quickly from amongst maybe as many as … Read More
Amidst this summer’s relentless gloomy weather it was great to receive some good news from the RSPB Cornish Chough project. This summer has been the best breeding season for Chough since they began their recolonisation of Cornwall in 2001. From … Read More
Butterfly Conservations ‘Big Butterfly Count’ national survey involves spending fifteen minutes between 14 July and 5 August counting butterflies. The counts can take place anywhere in the country and in any habitat; gardens, towns, schools, in the countryside, any records … Read More
Migrants save the day. This years events, involving both daytime recording and night time trapping at brown field sites, are likely to have been severely hampered by the wet and windy weather sweeping most of the country. Certainly the weather … Read More
Ichneumon suspiciosus and Ichneumon stramentarius are two parasitic wasp species, part of the huge order of insects known as Hymenoptera, commonly seen in gardens and the countryside throughout the UK. They are just two of the many thousands, possibly even … Read More
The identification differences between the two most common species of Auk seen around the British Isles, the Guillemot (Uria aalge) and Razorbill (Alca torda), aren’t always easy to appreciate at distance but when seen close up the key distinguishing features … Read More